Farm Briefs

The Randall County office of Texas Cooperative Extension is planning a workshop to evaluate tools the federal government is developing for managing drought response.

The daylong workshop will be Wednesday at the Kuhlman Extension Center in Canyon.

Some of the tools are intended to help with management decisions such as buying or selling cattle, irrigating or selecting drought-tolerant crops. Other tools are meant to communicate ground-level observations to decision-makers far away, forecasting vegetative stress or helping track market conditions.

Registration begins at 8:30 a.m. and the session ends at 5 p.m.

To reserve a place, call (806) 468-5543 or send e-mail to d-nusser@tamu.edu by noon Tuesday. Snacks will be provided in the morning, and lunch will be provided.

Sorghum checkoff

The U.S. Department of Agriculture is accepting comments on creating a fund for grain sorghum and sorghum silage promotion and research.

Producers would pay fees to fund the activities.

"An order would provide for assessments on sales of grain sorghum and for sorghum silage. An industry board would carry out promotion, research, and information programs designed to expand markets for sorghum," said Lloyd C. Day, administrator of USDA's Agricultural Marketing Service.

Comments should be sent in duplicate to: Kenneth R. Payne, Chief; Marketing Programs Branch, Room 2628-S; Livestock and Seed Program, AMS, USDA; 1400 Independence Avenue, SW.; Washington, D.C. 20250-0251, to be received no later than Jan. 22. For more information, call (202) 720-1115.

More sorghum info

Cornell University has unveiled the Interactive Resource Center & Helpdesk (irc.igd.cornell.edu/). A special section devoted to sorghum and millet has free publications, news, and downloadable data, according to the National Sorghum Producers.

Dry conditions

Some moisture fell in Texas during the Thanksgiving holiday weekend, but more is needed for wheat fields and to abate the threat of wildfires

From far West Texas to the Panhandle and Rolling Plains, the wildfire danger is still high, according to Texas Cooperative Extension officials.

"The bottom line is it is dry," said Brent Bean, Extension agronomist in Amarillo. "We're certainly not off to the great start we had last year."

With poor stands or stands that haven't emerged in dryland fields, he said grazing will be short.

"But there's still plenty of time to make a wheat crop," Bean said. "Wheat is made in the spring."

The following condition reports are from Extension officials:

PANHANDLE: Soil moisture ranges from very short to adequate with most areas reporting short. Cotton ranges from very poor to excellent with most areas reporting good.

Cotton and sorghum harvests continue. Wheat ranges from very poor to excellent with most areas reporting fair. Some wheat remains to be planted. Range conditions are rated mostly fair.

There is still a high danger for wildfires. Cattle are in good condition. Supplemental feeding is under way.

SOUTH PLAINS: Thanksgiving snowfall ranged from a trace to 10 inches. The cold weather and moisture halted harvesting operations; however, a hard freeze dried down the remaining cotton that had not been defoliated.

Grain sorghum harvest is near completion. Winter wheat is in fair condition. Pastures and ranges are in fair condition. The moisture will help with cool season grasses a little, but additional moisture will be needed soon.

Cattle are in good condition. Supplemental feeding increased with the cold, wet weather.